


(p)awful days by your side

by summerela



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cats, First Impressions, M/M, Redemption, hints of rensung and nahyuck bc i'm a hoe for rare pairs, it all started with 'pspspspspsp', look at all those cat puns! wow i hate myself, more jaemle than intended, sorry jeno sucks at one scene, this is lightly sprinkled crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-13 18:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerela/pseuds/summerela
Summary: Chenle has the tenacity of a bull and he'll get those cats to love him. But Lee Jeno has a way of stealing all of their attention, and maybe Chenle's too.





	(p)awful days by your side

**Author's Note:**

> my brain: just because you have an idea doesn't mean you gotta write a fic on it  
me: *ignoring my brain's wise words*  
me: i'm going to write a fic on it

A week ago, Chenle was not slated to spend his weekends at their local cat shelter, dressed in a volunteer apron, collecting more dust than sun from lying down on the ground. He would have been spending the better part of his Sunday afternoon on his king-sized mattress with Jisung, playing on his Switch and scoring win after win. Or better yet, cooking up foolproof schemes to annoy his neighbor, Donghyuck, aka their neighborhood's Devil incarnate (it's a position Chenle has been eyeing since arriving to this humble town a year ago).

Nothing could have led him up to this point: sitting on his butt, staring at the kittens warily pawing at his pant leg with small whiskers of distrust.

Chenle reaches out slowly to poke one of the kittens, nearest to him, on the forehead.

But the small thing hisses. And Chenle wants to hiss back but in sadness.

Chenle doesn't think he's a particularly bad bean. His mom thinks he's an angel and even his Korean tutor, Renjun, thinks he's 'aight sometimes'. Also he has a loyal best friend! It's only Park Jisung, but everyone in his grade and the year up wants a piece of Park Jisung. Chenle wonders why though because Jisung has debatable taste. Case in point, he actually has a terribly smitten crush on Chenle's tutor.

Maybe it's his hair? Chenle lightly blows on the overgrown strands of bleached hair hanging in front of his eyes. Do kittens have a sixth sense for dyed hair? Do they also think people who make questionable hair decisions are doomed to the end, irresponsible for any life event that comes their way?

Again, the Chinese boy is talking to himself concerning the semantics of life. All because the cute kittens—Sal, Nal, and Bong, are ignoring him.

"It's already been an hour, and not one of the kittens has played with you?" 

Ah yes, there's the reason why Chenle can't get the balls of fur to love him. Lee Jeno, a senior with a motorcycle as black and sleek as any one of Chenle's personal limousines, with raven-colored hair (contrary to Chenle's own) and a smirk to send the faintest of hearts back to kindergarten, saunters in as if he owns the place as he throws the frowning boy a bright-eyed smile.

Lee Jeno. Also a cat whisperer, stealing all of Chenle's cats and not giving the junior a chance to bond with any of them.

The boy sitting pitifully on the floor scowls deeply. "Why are you still here? I thought you ditched volunteering today so you could take a spin on your Hot Wheels and show off to all the girls in your grade."

Jeno puts his helmet on the cabinet, taking off his leather jacket in a painstakingly slow fashion, and puts on the ugly green apron. Chenle is definitely not staring at the action, nope, his eyes are focused on Bong.

"Aw did you miss me? I always have an extra seat for you Lele, right up on my Hot Wheels bike." He winks and Chenle pretends to vomit (now he understands why Renjun cannot stomach cheesy flirting; it's an abomination to pure eyes and Chenle thinks he's as pure as a day old baby).

"No thanks Lee. And Lele? Where did you get that from?" Chenle tears his gaze away from the muscles flexing under Jeno's muscle tee, giving Bong a pointed look: _Talk to me Bong, save me from this evil spirit! _

Bong meows and licks his paw. 

"Heard Jisung Park calling you that. And also Jaemin," Jeno arches an eyebrow, "Why can my best friend call you that but I can't?"

Chenle lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Jaemin has no ulterior motives and he's like my adoptive mother. You," Chenle sticks his pointer finger in Jeno's direction, "Are shifty and I can't trust you. I do not grant you the privilege and permission, Lee."

Jeno raises his hands in mock surrender, slowly settling down onto the floor next to Chenle. Sal and Nal immediately clamber over to his side, and Chenle feels the metaphorical waterfall of regret within him shower down on his supposedly impenetrable will. He can't help but deflate when the calico and tabby start purring like mini car engines, chins tickled by Jeno's slender fingers.

"Maybe you're just bitter because the cats obviously like me more than you." Jeno says after a momentary pause of silence.

If looks can kill, Chenle would've made sure his laser-focused glare would send Jeno to the tenth level of hell, but Jeno looks up to match the younger boy's gaze steadily, and Chenle looks away, breaking eye contact.

"You know what? I'm pretty sure Bong likes me more than he likes you. Pspspsps, come here Bongie!" Chenle waggles his fingers in the direction of the black kitty sitting lazily on top of the cat tower, acting very much like a royal douche and not sparing the desperate blonde boy a second glance.

Jeno blinks his eyes, looking from the disinterested cat to the despondent boy, now face down on the floor with limbs spread apart, sending pleading signs to the cat.

"I could help you get closer to the cats." Jeno suggests while gently petting Nal's exposed tummy. Chenle stops his awful rendition of Sadako from the Ring, and props his head up to look curiously at the senior.

"And what's in it for you?" Chenle frowns, "I don't like owing people favors."

Jeno doesn't answer Chenle right away, and the younger watches with envy as Sal climbs up the biker boy's sturdy arm and onto his shoulder. 

"Nothing really, can't I spend time with my favorite junior?" 

Chenle gives him a dirty stink eye. "Liars have their pants set on fire. Don't even try to curry favor, your favorite junior is Jisung!" 

The older boy coaxes the calico to leave his shoulder and he frowns in the direction of Chenle, "I like you both equally." Chenle plugs his fingers into his ears to block out Jeno's words.

Selective hearing at its best.

The crestfallen expression on Jeno's face passes by like a shadow, only to be quickly replaced with a ill-fitted smile.

"I guess I'll keep taking the cats away from you then."

At that, Chenle springs up and heads towards the cat tower. 

"Bongie, I know you love me. You gotta prove to this potato head that he's wrong! Bongie? Don't run away from me now, I swear I won't touch your ears. Come back Bongie!"

It hasn't always been like that for Chenle. Hating Lee Jeno that is.

When the Zhong family first moved into Seoul with the future of his father's corporation on his back, Chenle hardly spoke a whisker of Korean. Acclimation was an appalling process, only made bearable by the presence of Huang Renjun— one of Chenle's Chinese-speaking neighbors, and Park Jisung— whom he accidentally called a cucumber as Chenle stuttered through a basic introduction on that first day of class. There was also the fact that Chenle's family was rich and most of his classmates looked to him with an aura of misplaced awe and judgmental jealousy. In short, it was really hard to make friends at school and if Chenle hadn't knocked on the wrong front door, mistaking the home next door to be his own, Chenle wouldn't have Lee Donghyuck (and of course, Renjun and Jisung) to intimidate the bullies and gossip always surrounding the new Chinese transfer.

But with Donghyuck and Renjun came Na Jaemin, and his best friend since diapers, Lee Jeno. Jaemin, in Chenle's memories, had a good first impression. Na Jaemin smiled brightly when Chenle bumped into the older boy in the cafeteria, then dragged along spontaneously by Donghyuck to join their new lunch group (aka the addition of Chenle). Jaemin is sweet and affectionate, always indulging Chenle in hugs and light kisses to the crown of his head whenever the younger struggled with pronouncing a certain word or in general, had a bad day. Though those moments also remind Chenle of a slightly seething Donghyuck. He's sure the two of them will realize their mutual feelings for each other eventually.

Lee Jeno, on the other hand, had a less than swell first impression. In fact, it was bordering on _really_ bad and distinctly memorable. 

Chenle had been in the library, spending extra time getting a head start on his Korean homework because he knew Renjun would make good on his threat and take away Chenle's Switch if the latter didn't at least start working on the first sheet. While waiting for Jisung to finish soccer practice and having gotten that head start on his homework, Chenle had discovered a nook for textbooks on animals. There was one particularly shiny spine that caught his attention, in the section on cats, and Chenle reached out to grab the book out of its spot.

It just so happened that Jeno was passing by behind Chenle as the younger boy wrenched the book out forcibly, making him lose his footing and crash backwards, book flung up and into the air.

The heavy textbook hits something hard and Chenle falls onto the soft body behind him. A loud crash follows.

It's a miracle no one comes by to check on the mess, but perhaps Chenle is spared from public humiliation because the anger directed at him by the scary-looking stranger is enough to have Chenle tremble in his bright orange hoodie.

"What the fuck are you doing kid?"

The growl from underneath him has Chenle cowering, refusing to lift his eyes from the fallen book on his side. He doesn't even make a sound when the stranger manhandles him, pushing Chenle off of his chest and sprawling to the floor.

"You made my day worse, and yet you're not even apologizing for it." The noticeably older boy mutters, carding fingers through his dark hair to massage the spot the book had struck.

Chenle feels so bad, but he can't say anything—too shaken by the mean tone of the other's words. Though the intense glare Chenle feels is slowly lightening up, the younger boy remains mute. 

"I hope you're sorry." The older sighs in resignation, and Chenle peeks up from behind his bangs to identify the other, only to lightly gasp when he sees it's Jaemin's friend.

"What are you looking at?" Jeno scowls but the expression on his chiseled face looks pained, now as Chenle is staring pitifully back. Unfortunately, hearing no answer, Jeno rolls his eyes and gets up, "Whatever, I don't care. I need to go." He stands up with his back facing Chenle and says.

"Just watch out next time. You don't want someone beating you up." And with that, the senior leaves without looking back.

In retrospect, Chenle knows it was his fault for the bad encounter and for not finding his tongue quick enough to apologize for the injury. But Lee Jeno was intimidating and had a scary aura. He didn't offer the easy smiles Chenle had gotten used to from the other people who had casually entered his life.

Thus, he avoids the older boy to his best ability. Even going as far as to give an excuse about 'needing to finish an assignment in the library' whenever Jaemin drags along the senior to join their daily lunch table.

Eventually, Jisung catches on (it seems a month of their friendship has already given the group's youngest a mastery of reading the one and only Zhong Chenle) and subsequently, Jisung snares Chenle like an unsuspecting squirrel from one of the stairwells, munching listlessly on his sandwich, back to the cafeteria.

It was awkward, to say the least, when Chenle meets Jeno's gaze. But he pretends the latter isn't there and eats quietly.

That's how their awkward acquaintanceship begins, until it is not.

Chenle is sitting at their usual lunch table, the first one there because his Chemistry teacher had let them out earlier. He unpacks his compartmentalized lunch box, finally having convinced his mom to make him some Chinese food again and not have their chef whip up the usual sandwich for Chenle to bring to school. With a satisfied sigh at smelling the homecooked food, Chenle's ready to dig in.

Someone slips in beside him, and Chenle, thinking it's Jaemin, immediately latches onto the arm and holds up a glutinous flour cake with his chopsticks to feed his favorite senior Chenle's favorite dessert. 

Instead, he sees Jeno staring back at him, frozen in place. And Chenle realizes he's holding onto worn leather and not soft baby blue cashmere. He wants to die, mayhaps shoot himself to Pluto and never see the sun again, when Jeno doesn't move.

But as Chenle tries to pull back and apologize profusely for the inappropriate arm grab, Jeno stops him—reaching forward to grasp Chenle's hand and pull the chopsticks holding the food towards his mouth.

Chenle watches with a slack jaw as Jeno chews on the cake, and then wonders if he died because Jeno's suddenly smiling at him with crescent-shaped eyes.

"It tastes good!" 

That's how Jisung finds him a few minutes later, watching with alarm and amusement (mostly the latter though). "Did your brain stop working? Am I talking to Chenle.jpg right now?"

The confused boy closes his jaw and sends his best friend a hiss, hackles rising and ready to throw out something equally snarky and demeaning, because Jisung's not funny even though he tries too hard to be; it's all for Renjun to notice him, Chenle swears.

But Jeno answers for him.

"Chenle fed me some of his dessert, sorry you couldn't make it earlier to see, Jisungie."

Upon hearing the light-hearted, almost flirty tone of the senior, Chenle whips his head over to understand why Jeno is acting so chummy all of a sudden, only to blanch when the senior winks at him.

Jisung wrinkles his nose at them. "Please don't flirt in front of my salad. Because that's all my mom packed for me today."

That's how their weird friendship came to be and frankly, Chenle has little to complain. He'd take a flirty Jeno over a cold-eyed senior any day but that doesn't mean he appreciates how the latter became so teasing? So charming? Without any explanation. After all, Chenle is raised to be nobody's fool and he's too smart to be played like that. That's why he enlists help from only the best. But second to him, obviously.

"Why am I here?" Donghyuck asks in a bored tone, crouching behind one of the lockers with Chenle who's donning a pair of hot pink sunglasses and a bucket hat to cover his bleached hair.

Chenle shushes the boy, pulling him closer to his side so his atrocious leopard-print pants aren't garnering unnecessary attention. It's a fluke because a gaggle of girls passes by, pointing at the two of them, giggling about their appearance.

"Seriously Donghyuck? Why are you even wearing those? Leopard print is _so_ last season." Chenle groans when the volume of the girls' voices gets louder and they're nearing Jeno, who's in a conversation with Mark Lee, captain of the basketball team.

"Leopard print is timeless but someone like you wouldn't understand. A bucket hat, really?" Donghyuck shoots back in a loud tone, none the wiser about their current situation.

Chenle grabs Donghyuck, making the older boy duck with him when Jeno swerves his head in their direction, probably having heard Lee Donghyuck's unique voice.

"Please just be quiet for once, we need to figure out why Jeno's so weird!" Chenle whisper-shouts to the other once Jeno looks away and is listening intently to Mark again.

Donghyuck smirks, "Weird? Define weird, my dear Lele."

Chenle smacks his forehead, not wanting to withstand this bullshit. But he also needs someone to understand his situation, and evidently Jisung has already given up on him.

_'He's flirting with you Chenle! It's honestly disgusting, but a man's gotta do what he's gotta do.' _Nope, Chenle refuses to believe Jisung, not after the other had taken his bag of Hi-Chews, ate it all in one sitting, and had the audacity to say Jaemin had done it. How could he dare frame his favorite senior like that?

"He keeps picking at my frayed edges with his stupid smirk and silly words! It's like he wants to see me get angry and I don't know, throw one of Renjun's heavy as fuck paintings at his face!" Chenle huffs, "I need to figure out how to dethrone his dangerous attitude and also find the secret to why cats love him."

Donghyuck laughs. 

"This isn't something I should say, but have you thought maybe he's trying to get close to you? Although unconventionally." Chenle opens his mouth to refute Donghyuck's words but the latter continues on, "Jeno's always been a bit awkward and unapproachable but he's shy. I think you should give him a chance."

Chenle feels his eye twitch and he throws his hands out, palms facing up. "Awkward? Shy? The only thing you said that makes sense is unapproachable. I didn't even know awkward and shy were part of Jeno's vocabulary."

Donghyuck shakes his head at him, as if Chenle was the crazy one. "You're overthinking this, kid." His eyes light up, "Oh, he's heading over now. Hi Jeno!"

Chenle tries to flee.

Alas he is stopped by a hand on his shoulder. 

"And who do we have here? Mr. Handsome, taking a break from his catwalk?" Jeno smirks at him, looking down at Chenle's embellished Gucci boots and slowly dragging his eyes up to grin at Chenle's choice of a bucket hat.

"If you don't remove your hand right now, I'm going to knee you and give you everlasting impotency." Chenle smiles, giving a sigh of internal relief when Jeno lets his hand drop.

"Damn." Donghyuck fans his face, catching Chenle's eye and shooting him a knowing look, "The tension here is as thick as Jeno's thighs. Ight I'mma head out and pretend I didn't see or hear anything. Y'all play nice now."

That leaves Chenle to face the finicky conundrum that is Jeno Lee on his own. It's an undesirable prospect and the unpleasant face Chenle makes doesn't escape Jeno's notice, but Jeno ignores that and raises an eyebrow in the direction Donghyuck had left in.

"...did he...did he just quote a meme?"

Coming back to the beginning, Chenle begins volunteering at the cat shelter once his mom finds out he's been wasting away his weekend afternoons on Super Smash Bro and the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons game. He does a good job on putting up a fair fight initially, but when his mom tells him she'll stop making Chinese food for lunch, Chenle knows where his loyalty lies. 

It's part of growing up, he guesses, after his mom gave him a lecture on how taking care of animals would help him take care of himself once he's off to college and eventually living on his own. Chenle doesn't point out that there isn't really an equivalence between the two because he'd be bathing the cats, pouring already made cat food into bowls, and simply playing hide and seek with the felines—wholly different concepts from cleaning his dorm, cooking his own food, and keeping a respectable social life in the wild ups-and-downs of college. But he keeps his mouth shut because he adores his mom's homecooked meals.

It was fun volunteering at first because he was the only volunteer and his employee, Kun (whom Chenle really found himself attached to because the older always had Chinese candy in a bowl at the receptionist desk and if the bowl became half empty on Sundays, Kun never breathed a word about it), liked talking about his stories of university life and his years in China. He liked hearing the older man talk fondly about his family, relieving Chenle of his own homesickness at times, while the two of them played around with the cats. 

At least back then the cats liked him, and ventured out to paw Chenle's shoes whenever he came into the room.

How Jeno also found the place to volunteer at, Chenle cannot fathom. One day Kun was there, sitting beside him, talking about the crickets he used to catch as a kid with his neighborhood friends. Then suddenly, it was Jeno, slouched on the ground by Chenle's feet, cooing at Sal, Nal, and Bong while throwing cheesy pick up lines and smiles Chenle's way.

Kun still stuck around, since he worked that shift, but he took to staying in his office, only occasionally surfacing from his quiet space to check up on the two of them. In those moments, Chenle makes sure to clamber up to the other, hugging his legs dramatically and asking him to please stay and make the cats love him again. But Kun only laughs at him and tells Chenle to keep his chin up, saying it's a temporary phase but the cats will come back to his side.

Chenle wishes he were spending those hours with Kun. Because he misses the stories, the tiger balms to his homesick heart.

But Jeno has his own way of making Chenle feel warm inside and the younger boy isn't so sure if he likes it.

After all, Chenle never did get the ending to Kun's ghost epic.

On one particularly gloomy day, Chenle stares despondently at yet another rejected advance towards Bong. The black cat is curiously eyeing Chenle over the boy's backpack. The blonde boy was at the library earlier studying for his calculus test and had to bring all of his work along with him to his shift.

Bong flicks his tail at the boy's outstretched palm.

Meanwhile Jeno is unusually quiet, having toned down on his coy remarks today, instead only speaking a few words to Chenle asking him to pass a toy or the cat food bag. 

The silence is killing Chenle but he doesn't know how to break it. He could only breathe out in relief when his shift is up, and he and Jeno put on their outerwear to leave the building.

It's just to his luck that it's pouring outside, raining cats and dogs if Chenle wants to be funny about it. His chauffeur isn't available to pick him up, because he has some personal issues back at home to tend to. His dad is abroad for a business meeting and his mom, surprisingly also isn't home because she had to see a relative. Chenle had taken the bus earlier to get to his volunteering, but he didn't bring enough bus tokens to suffice for a ride back, having opted to walk home in the pleasant evening light.

Except it's definitely not pleasant now, with the gray sky and heavy patter of fat rain droplets hitting the cement. Chenle doesn't even have an umbrella! 

He looks over to Jeno, sees the other boy frown at the sky but is holding a large black umbrella in one of his hands.

"You didn't ride your motorcycle here?"

Jeno looks over at him in surprise, "Huh? Oh, no I didn't. She's at repairs because something was off about the turning lights." He squints at Chenle even though they're only a feet from each other. "Did you not bring an umbrella?"

Chenle pouts a little, looking away as he kicks at the pavement. He sighs with a hint of embarrassment, "Yeah..."

Jeno makes a noise of surprise.

"How are you going to get home? Where do you live?"

Chenle scratches the back of neck, "Well I was going to walk home but now I don't know, because I'll end up looking like a drowned rat. Maybe I can catch Kun before he leaves?" Jeno shakes his head and Chenle looks at him in confusion, "I live pretty far though." Jeno shakes his head again and holds up a hand, as if asking Chenle to entertain his next thought.

"You can come with me. I live really close and my parents aren't home right now so I'm okay with you crashing for the night. You have your stuff too right?" Jeno nods over at the backpack hanging limply in Chenle's hand.

That wasn't what Chenle thought would fall out of the other boy's lips. He's suddenly a bit wary, because Jeno had gone from mean to flirty to quiet to nice, and it's too much for Chenle to figure out why Jeno can't pick a side to him to stay consistent to.

But he hears the loud resounding boom of thunder and Chenle literally jumps, heart having already made the decision.

"Okay okay, I'll crash tonight but you attempt any funny business, and I'll sick Jisung on you." Chenle tries to look threatening but he's flinching from seeing the lightning off in the distance.

Jeno smiles, a genuine smile, and he sidles up to Chenle while opening his umbrella.

"C'mon, let's get going then."

The walk is short, true to Jeno's words, but Chenle can't help but feel like the silence stretches all the way from his hometown in China to the place he is now. Pretending he's admiring the rain, which is utter bullshit, but some things must be faked for the sake of his sanity, Chenle doesn't look at Jeno as they amble along the sidewalk under the big umbrella. He listens to Jeno casually hum along to some song he doesn't know, and he tries to relax being a few inches away from the other boy. The senior doesn't try to make talk and Chenle feels his muscles slowly untensing.

He doesn't realize they've arrived, not until Jeno gently grasps his elbows and steers him towards a small house off on the side. Wordlessly, he lets Jeno step in front of him under the awning of the porch so he could open the door but he instantly gasps when he sees the state of the other.

"What the hell, Jeno?" 

Jeno crinkles his nose as he turns around to meet Chenle's offended stare, "What now?" He asks playfully, but the way he tries to hide his sniffle while avoiding Chenle's hard gaze is enough to have the younger scream.

"Why is half your body wet?! Why didn't you walk under the umbrella, you dumbass?" Chenle watches Jeno wince in mild satisfaction; it isn't every day that he feels like he has the tables turned on the other boy.

"I didn't want to intrude on your personal space? It's fine, really!" Jeno tries to explain, but Chenle's having none of it. He groans, steps past Jeno to invite himself into the latter's home. "Seriously? And here I am, intruding on your home. Hurry up and change out of your wet clothes. I'm going to feel really guilty if you end up getting sick." Chenle scowls.

Jeno wipes at his nose and has the nerve to shoot Chenle a sweet smile, "It's okay. I don't get sick easily." He says this but suddenly coughs. 

Chenle feels the furrow of his eyebrows deepen and he starts kicking him, to get the other moving and not dawdling like a fool still by the door. Jeno complies all too willingly, disappearing into the house to grab warm clothes.

Chenle makes his way to the living room, clothes dry at the expense of the other. He ponders to himself.

A placated and infirmed Jeno Lee is quite a different story. Chenle doesn't feel the need to be as cautious and can act more like himself without wondering about the repercussions. Maybe crashing tonight at Jeno's place won't be too bad.

"You wear glasses?" 

Chenle chokes on the glass of water Jeno had so graciously given to him after their five-star Michelin dinner consisting of Chenle's favorite ramen brand ("I may have a driver's license and can clean a house from top to bottom, but I really can't cook well" Jeno had admitted as he lifted the cover of the boiling pot, giving Chenle a sheepish smile).

Jeno had cocked his head to the side in amusement, the bastard not even helping Chenle recover from his coughing fit.

"My vision is shit but when you're in view, I can always see you perfectly." 

It's never too soon to wish for the sweet release of death, Chenle thinks as he follows the older boy to the bedroom. As for his reaction? He'll dwell upon it later, mentally storing away the image of Jeno in _unattractive_ glasses.

"So you can take the bed, and I'll sleep on the ground." Jeno leaves no room for argument as he starts digging in his closet for extra blankets and a pillow. Chenle stands awkwardly by Jeno's full-sized bed, toeing the wooden floor with his socks. Jeno had thrown one of his black basketball hoodies at Chenle, telling him he needed something more comfortable to sleep in for the night and Chenle had taken it without complaints. Though now, donned in Jeno's oversized hoodie and shorts, Chenle kind of wants to make a snappy remark because he looks like a clothes hanger for Jeno's varsity gear. 

He doesn't realize he's making a stupid duck face until Jeno turns around, blankets in his arms, and he laughs at Chenle.

"You're always surprising me, Chenle." He says as he starts laying out the comforter and pillow. The younger boy watches as the older lays blanket upon blanket to soften the floor. 

Chenle frowns but doesn't grace Jeno with a comeback. "Hey, are you sure you want to take the ground? I don't mind sleeping there. You're also sick..."

Jeno's already crawling under the covers, face peeking up at Chenle with the slightest roll of his eyes. "Just take the bed, okay. And can you turn off the lights please?"

Chenle lets a small smile slip, as Jeno wriggles under his blanket like a cat trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep on, and he goes over to the light switch.

Once he turns it off and carefully steps back over to jump onto Jeno's bed, he sticks a hand over and out to pat blindly for Jeno's face. He finds it if the grunt he hears is of any indication.

"Chenle." Jeno whines when the younger accidentally pokes him in the eyelid.

"Oops sorry, just wanted to make sure you're still there." Chenle laughs and he hears Jeno take a sharp breath. "Silly, of course I'm still here. Are you afraid of the dark or something? Want me to come up there and hold you?"

Chenle laughs louder. That sounds more like the Jeno he knows. Those minor mishaps in Chenle's internal algorithm on what is Lee Jeno were simply that: miniscule glitches. But fear wasn't the case. He isn't afraid of the dark, and he lets the other know.

"I don't like to be left alone." 

Jeno sniffles can be heard, and Chenle regrets suddenly intruding on Jeno's life—from dropping that cat book on the other's head to taking his bed while the other boy was sick. But he can't lament further, not when Jeno's voice echoes in the quietness of the room.

"I won't leave you, I promise."

Not much changes in their relationship. At least Chenle doesn't really think so. 

He supposes time and perspective bleed into each other, to the point that he doesn't remember a time when Jeno was that scary senior he had accidentally knocked down to the ground like a bowling pin.

No one really comments on the changed dynamics of their friendship? Mutual acknowledgement? Chenle can't really label social relationships, not as easily as Renjun, who also happens to be the one to break that silence trend, cornering Chenle after class one day.

"Something happened between you and Jeno, and you're going to tell me about it over bubble tea." 

And what is Chenle to say in protest? He weakens in Renjun's firm grip as he's dragged out the doors.

Renjun doesn't give Chenle the mere satisfaction of looking surprised. He makes a noisy slurp, trying to collect the last of the pearls, matcha tea having already been ingested.

"What a curious development," The older says, interlacing his fingers together on the table in front of him. Chenle looks down at his own half-empty milk tea, pretends he doesn't see the shit-eating grin on his friend's face.

"So we're friends now...?" Chenle says. Renjun raises both eyebrows, finally showing some element of surprise. He pushes aside his empty cup and raps his knuckle against the table, shaking Chenle out of his thoughts.

"Why the doubt? We've always been friends. The six of us." 

Chenle bites the straw in his mouth but lifts his eyes to meet Renjun's inquisitive stare head-on. "Not the first time I met Jeno." To Renjun's further confused look, Chenle launches into his first encounter with the senior, ending the foray with an embarrassed cough.

"That isn't what I heard." Renjun cryptically says but he's already standing up. "Well I'm supposed to head out now and meet Jisung at the skate park." 

Chenle collects his bearings, watered down drink in hand, and follows Renjun to the trashcan as the older boy deposits his plastic cup. 

"Tell your crush I said hi," He giggles when the other utters an expletive, "What? It's so obvious. But for the record, I think he likes you back. Though don't breathe a word about this to Jisung or else he'll kill me." Chenle pouts.

"Take a page out of your own book, Chenle." Renjun smirks, leaving the younger boy to stand alone outside the cafe—lost in his thoughts.

He's late again, Chenle thinks while lying on his back, Sal perched like the princess she is, on her majestic throne also known as Chenle's soft tummy. Bong and Nal are swatting at his poofed up hair, taking joy in shedding their cat fur onto his usually well-kept do. It's certainly a change to see all the cats gravitate towards him for once but it's awful because Jeno isn't here and he can't prove to the older that the cats actually do like him.

He doesn't dare move to check his phone, hasn't moved a muscle actually since feeding the three cats under his responsibility. As a result, Chenle has no idea how much time has passed since Bong inhaled his portion of food. He only knows that Jeno should be here, annoying him, but he isn't.

And it strangely feels lonely.

Kun walks in and makes no comment on the scene before him. He leans down to pet Sal and the calico purrs, vibrations reverberating throughout Chenle's lifeless form.

"Where's Jeno?"

Kun stops petting the cat and Sal stops purring. She jumps off Chenle's stomach like a lithe dancer, and Chenle misses the warmth.

"Jeno called in, telling me he was sick and can't make it." Kun gets up, "Did he forget to tell you?"

Chenle makes a face. It's not as if Jeno had to tell him about his schedule, but the forgetfulness coupled with the odd radio silence from the other, leaving the younger bereft of teasing remarks and sly grins throughout the past week, leaves a bitter aftertaste on the back of Chenle's throat.

He pushes the awful feeling down, lets Kun indulge him in the next installment of his ghost story.

But Chenle's mind isn't back in China where peace was found in quiet afternoons by the lake, wading in shallow pools looking for frogs with flushed cheeks caused by the rays of the hot summer sun. Instead his mind is vaguely somewhere else. Somewhere here. In this room with Sal, Nal, and Bong, hearing a certain raven-haired boy ramble about his day while never failing to get Chenle to respond back—albeit in sharp and blunt words to the former's coquettish remarks, causing the hint of a blush to spread lightly on Chenle's cheeks.

To his pride, Chenle only gets lost once while trying to find Jeno's house. After leaving the pharmacy next to the volunteer building, the boy had headed in what he thought was the right direction, racking his brain for the faintest memory of the path Jeno had taken him on during their walk together in the rain. But despite making one wrong turn and ending up in a sketchy neighborhood, Chenle eventually succeeds in his conquest. He recognizes the familiar awning and door, and practically sprints, knocking hastily on the smoothly polished door.

"Hello?"

The door swings open and a woman looking like she could be Jeno's mom stares at Chenle questioningly.

"Hello," Chenle bows, remembering the manners Renjun had taught him about Korean culture, "I'm Jeno's friend. I heard he was sick and wanted to come by and check up on him." He smiles, hoping Jeno's mom likes him enough to let him in and see the boy.

Acknowledgment flashes across her face and she steps aside to let Chenle in, "Jeno has spoken about you quite a bit. Please, do come in! He's in his room right now, if you're busy and can only spare a minute. Feel free to go in." She smiles and Chenle realizes Jeno had inherited his notorious eye smile from her.

He dips his head in appreciation, and makes his way in with his plastic bag of medicine and snacks.

"Mom?" Chenle hears a croak from behind Jeno's closed door, and without hesitation, he pushes it open, staring at the sight before him.

Jeno looks miserable under the gigantic pile of comforters, hair limp and tussled unlike its usual shiny and soft texture. Chenle spares him the embarrassment of announcing his presence loudly in the eerily silent room punctuated by Jeno's soft coughing, lightly closing the door behind him as he slinks his way over.

"Mom, my throat hurts," Jeno whines with eyes closed and Chenle feels his gut wrench at the image.

"Jeno, I bought you honey candy." 

The whining stops as Jeno sits up, eyes impossibly large. "Why are you here? How did you get in?"

Chenle rolls his eyes but bestows the panicking boy with a gentle smile, "Because I wanted to make sure your Hot Wheels bike didn't stop in the middle of the road. And your mom let me in." He pushes the senior back into bed, finger lightly flinching from having touched Jeno's overheated forehead.

"Ugh, end me now please." Jeno moans into his pillow, refusing to show his face. Not that it mattered, because Chenle's already seen Jeno's poor state and trust him, nothing is worse to look at if he brings back that ugly memory of Donghyuck vomiting over his new shoes.

"You can't die before I prove to you that the cats love me more." Chenle weakly bites back, already setting down to sit beside Jeno's pitiful lump of a figure. He digs through his bag for the hard candy and makes a triumphant sound once he finds it.

"I can't stay long since my mom's expecting me to be home by now, but I brought you this and a bunch of other snacks that Jaemin said you'd like. And—" Chenle pulls out a box of ginger tea and he grimaces, "I personally hate this stuff but it does wonders. Make sure your mom makes you some later today."

Jeno blinks at him from under the covers, eyeing the plastic bag on his bed and then stares at Chenle.

"What? Is your fever so gone to your head that you don't recognize me anymore?" Chenle waves his hand obnoxiously in front of the other's face, holding in his laughter while the latter fixes on the movement, too reminiscent of a cat preparing to pounce.

"Delirious? Yeah, I'm a bit delirious." Jeno's words slur and Chenle has to lean in closer to catch the tail end of it, "Didn't think I would be visited by an angel." Chenle freezes as Jeno reaches a tentative hand out, slowly patting Chenle's fluffy hair.

He watches as Jeno yawns, bringing his hand back up to his face to rub at his eyes. It's a cute sight, and Chenle's not that stubborn to admit he isn't slightly mesmerized.

But then suddenly, Jeno's sneezing and if Chenle looks carefully, he can see a subtle redness to the older's eyes.

"Holy shit, what's happening?" Chenle stands up, plastic bag left forgotten on the ground. Jeno doesn't say anything, just continues sneezing. Chenle turns his head as the door opens and Jeno's mom comes in holding something in her hand.

"Not again." Jeno's mom doesn't look panicked, instead almost resigned, as she hands over the medicine to Jeno. Chenle watches the exchange with blatant confusion.

"Oh Chenle, I can take care of him from here. This stupid boy is allergic to cats but he keeps volunteering at the local cat shelter. I told him to take his medicine whenever he thinks he'll have the slightest encounter with cat hair but it seems like he's forgotten." She runs her fingers fondly through Jeno's hair.

Chenle nods in a daze and hesitantly walks away. A whirlwind of thoughts overtaking his motor control.

_Jeno has a cat allergy??_

Chenle isn't ignoring Jeno. That would be returning to an awkward state of the past where the two of them weren't friends. He doesn't regress, even if current situations were difficult. But it's obvious that Chenle avoids Jeno's seeking eyes in the hallways, the senior having returned recovered from that eventful weekend.

Chenle excuses himself for the fourth time that week, giving an apologetic smile as he leaves their lunch table and heads for the library—on the account of finishing up a project. He feels even more bad because Jisung had finally asked Renjun out the past weekend and the two of them were unbearably sweet towards each other during lunch, making Chenle want to vomit and bang his head against a nearby wall. Simultaneously. Instead, he probably withstood a good solid minute of watching the two blush, before getting up and leaving.

He should be there to offer his congratulations to the new couple of their friend group, but his mind isn't present and every time he sees Jisung reach for Renjun's hand, he can't help but think of Jeno, smiling dopily up at him, reaching up and brushing his fingers through Chenle's bangs.

That's why Chenle is sitting by himself in the corner of the library, actually doing his homework and ignoring the grumbling of his stomach. At this rate, he'll definitely get an A in Korean, but at what cost? His height? Well, at least he's taller than Renjun and Donghyuck.

He's halfway through translating a particularly difficult paragraph in his Korean textbook, when someone noisily slides into the chair beside him. Chenle looks up and sees Jaemin.

"Hi Lele." The pink-haired senior says brightly, peering over at Chenle's scribbled handwriting.

"Hey Jaeminnie," Chenle sticks his tongue out in concentration as he copies an exceptionally hard Korean phrase into his notebook.

"So Jeno has been giving me sad puppy eyes these days and I'm wondering why?" Jaemin doesn't wait and goes straight to the point, his abrupt question making Chenle still, and the younger boy puts down his pen to face the other in growing confusion. 

"Wait that doesn't sound right. Why is he sad?" 

Jaemin scratches his cheek, looks at Chenle as if he has two heads, "You're asking me this? He says you're ignoring him." 

Chenle sighs at the obvious. With a pout, he slumps onto the table before him.

"I'm not!"

"Uh-huh, because why else would my best friend be calling me at midnight, asking me to come over and bring him ice cream? Lele, why don't you talk to him?" Jaemin asks gently, carding his fingers through Chenle's messy hair.

"Because I'm afraid I'll end up doing something unintentionally hurtful again!" 

Chenle finally confesses, jerking his head out of Jaemin's reach. The senior gasps and inches forward curiously, "How are you hurting him?" 

He supposes this is it. It's finally time for him to come clean and explain why he and Jeno just don't get along. From the start to the finish, he tells Jaemin about their first meeting all the way up to the cat allergies he had so recently discovered over the weekend.

Jaemin's laughing, muffled by his sweater paw because they're still in a library, but his eyes show mirth and Chenle can't help but glower at the person who was supposed to be his favorite.

"Jeno is hilarious, what a funny kid." Jaemin finally says, still with a mischievous smile. "You can stop moping around because he definitely wouldn't mind having you in his presence again."

Chenle starts waving his arms around wildly, not comprehending the senior's words. "Did you not hear what I just said???"

Jaemin nods, "Of course I did. And I'm telling you what's the best course of action here on out."

He slumps over again and ignores the cooing he hears from his side. 

"Well that clears up my suspicions. I need to go now or else Hyuckie will get worried. Lele, don't forget to eat your lunch before your next period!" 

He feels a pat on his head and the sound of footsteps leave. But simply because Jeno's best friend gives him the green light doesn't mean Chenle is going to listen. Regardless, he can't ignore the guilt steadily building up inside of him from causing Jeno his own form of misery.

"Chenle."

The junior pauses in his tracks, literally having taken one step out the door—his intentions of a sweet weekend dashed by the mere sound of his nightmare sneaking up behind him.

"Jeno." Chenle stiffens as he greets the boy back, nervously eyeing the black leather pocket right at the level of Jeno's heart.

"Care to go on a spin with me?" The senior asks, Chenle noticing that he's holding two helmets. The usual black one and a bright orange one.

"I suppose I have no choice." Chenle says wryly, taking the offered orange helmet. Jeno coughs and for a quick second, Chenle thinks he's still sick. But upon looking up, he sees a small blush on the latter's cheek. Cheeky but well-meant embarrassment.

"It'll be worth it, trust me."

Chenle sees the familiar building and he loosens his grip on Jeno's waist as the motorcycle slows down. He refuses to recall the fact that he did yelp when Jeno had started the engine in the school parking lot, and how he clung tightly to the older's leather jacket in hopes of calming down his racing heart. 

He ignores the smirk on Jeno's face as they get off the motorcycle once the latter kills the engine, makes sure to throw the helmet with more force than necessary when Jeno politely asks for Chenle to remove the headgear.

The Chinese boy marches into the local cat shelter and sees an unfamiliar face behind the receptionist desk. _Hendery_. The name tag reads.

He waits for Jeno to catch up to him and watches as the two boys make talk and Hendery opens the door, giving them permission to enter the cat room.

"Why are we here? Aren't you allergic to cats?" Chenle observes with mild mortification as Jeno picks up the first cat to approach them, a small white ball of fur now nuzzling against the older boy's cheek.

"That still hasn't changed but I took my allergy medication." Jeno says matter of factly. He walks up to Chenle and nudges him to lend over his palm; Chenle does and he watches as Jeno deposit the snowball into his sweater-covered hands.

Chenle's heart melts.

The little thing starts mewling, nose booping Chenle's thumb. When the kitty gazes big-eyed up at Chenle and purrs, he swears he'll give the baby everything it wants, even his own retirement savings.

His bonding moment is cut short though, when Jeno grabs his wrist and motions for him to sit down.

Cradling the sleepy kitty in the palm of his hands, Chenle sits. Not realizing Jeno is plastered to his side, even though they're in a decently-sized room with enough space to spare for two boys.

"Why am I here?"

Chenle asks softly, afraid of disturbing the kitten. He slowly lowers his arms so that his hands are resting in his lap. The ball of fur dozing happily on his sweater paws.

Jeno shifts from beside him and Chenle becomes minutely aware of every small movement from the older. He feels Jeno lower his head onto Chenle's shoulder, and Chenle's breath catches in his throat.

"Teaching you how to attract the cats."

Chenle snorts rather unattractively but he feels Jeno's stare at the side of his head, so he quickly schools his expression.

"Finally admitting you're not a cat whisperer?"

Jeno shrugs, though the placement of his body against Chenle's hinders the simple action and Jeno ends up snuggling closer. Chenle's surprised at himself for not jerking away from the odd skinship of the older boy. But he supposes it's because he's caught between a rock and a hard place—the furry animal in his hands rooting him to his spot.

"You're just as likable to cats." Jeno points out.

Chenle hums. The silence passes comfortably, until the younger boy decides he needs to know why Jeno is acting the way he is now. Why he lashed out at Chenle the first time they met each other. Why he likes to flirt with the younger, even though he has shown no obvious interest.

"Why?"

Jeno lifts his head and looks at him in alarm, "What do you mean? You're really likeable. Even though our first meeting was terrible and I yelled at you, you never badmouthed me or hated me." He sits up straighter.

"I got into a fight with my dad that day, but I took it out on you. I'm sorry." He frowns, "I shouldn't be giving excuses but that was the situation back then. I felt horrible when I saw how scared you were afterwards, but I didn't know how to approach you." Jeno bites his bottom lip and Chenle remains silent.

"I was really happy the day Jaemin dragged me over to your lunch table but then you kept ignoring me, and I blamed myself. Something about my face and personality makes me both scary and shy, I guess." Chenle cracks a small smile at that, and Jeno notices, gaining more courage to speak on.

"And then that day you mistook me for Jaemin was a turning point. I'm sorry I took advantage of it, and kept flirting with you—"

"So you actually were flirting with me?" Chenle interrupts.

Jeno looks down, pretends he finds the kitten sleeping in Chenle's hands to be more interesting.

"Uh...yeah. I think you're really cute and I didn't know how else to get close to you." Jeno squeaks, "I'm sorry?"

Chenle giggles, finding his own cheeks start to redden from hearing the compliment. "That still doesn't explain why you play with cats even though you have a cat allergy."

Jeno stiffens and Chenle watches with strange fascination as the older, supposedly composed boy start to blush hard.

"I've always loved cats since I was a child. And I found out through Renjun that you were volunteering at the local cat shelter, so I may or may not have decided to sign up so I could see you..."

Chenle puts the sleeping kitten down on one of the cushions laid out in front of them. He turns over to look down at the flustered Jeno, with his hands on his hips.

"You know what? I think I like you too."

Jeno looks flabbergasted. 

"Even though I've had my misgivings, I think you've proven yourself to be a noble gentleman with a nice motorcycle to boot." Chenle sits back down, but instead of sitting back in his old spot, he takes a seat on Jeno's lap.

He watches in scheming delight as the older boy sputter in protest, face as crimson as a Chinese red envelope.

"Are you not going to kiss me now? I've been kind of waiting for forever." Chenle impishly says, leaning in mischievously.

Jeno takes a sharp breath in, and Chenle hears him mumble _Am I dreaming?_ before he feels a light kiss on his cheek.

"Will you go out with me then, Lele?"

Chenle nods, "Yes, as long as you don't steal the attention of all the cats."

**Author's Note:**

> here's a dosage of jenle


End file.
